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Employment Law

EEOC: Longview Popeye’s violated ADA

10/31/2013
The EEOC is suing a Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits franchisee, alleging it illegally refused to hire an HIV-positive man for a job at a Longview restaurant. In its complaint, the EEOC claims Famous Chicken of Shreveport violated the ADA when it refused to hire the well-qualified applicant because of his condition.

Car dealership faces ­disability bias charges

10/31/2013
A former general manager at Benny Boyd Chevrolet-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep in Lubbock claims he was denied partnership in the company when he developed multiple sclerosis.

5 steps you must take to prevent and address sexual harassment

10/31/2013
In 2012, the EEOC received 7,571 complaints from workers alleging they were sexual harassment victims (17.8% of whom were men) and recovered $43 million for har­­assed workers. Don’t let your organization add to those statistics. Take these steps to prevent and address sexual harassment.

Consult lawyer before firing returning service member

10/31/2013
Members of the armed forces are protected from discharge for being called to duty. That includes those who must take short training leaves. Once released from brief active-duty periods, they must get their jobs back. Firing a returning service member without a solid reason may spark a lawsuit.

Feel free to change schedules if it will save money or improve operations

10/31/2013
Do you need to change someone’s job duties to economize? Don’t fear that doing so will trigger a lawsuit—as long as you can show the changes were necessary and not just an excuse for discrimination.

Vague or nonexistent harassment policy? In same-sex cases, prepare to pay

10/31/2013
Judges don’t have much patience with employers that don’t understand their obligations to prevent or stop sexual harassment, including same-sex harassment.

Harris Health System pays out $4M for back OT

10/31/2013
Harris Health System in Houston will pay out more than $4 million in back pay after it failed to include incentive pay when calculating overtime for thousands of hourly staff members.

Kroger to pay $450,000 for disability bias in Plano

10/31/2013
A federal jury has awarded $450,000 to a mentally disabled former Kroger grocery store employee in Plano whose manager constantly insulted him. The EEOC filed a disability discrimination lawsuit on the employee’s behalf in 2012.

When bias claims fly, beware lenient courts

10/31/2013
Here’s an important factor to consider when terminating an employee who has recently complained about alleged discrimination of some sort: If she can show at least a tenuous connection between her complaint (like its timing) and her discharge, she will probably be able to proceed with her lawsuit.

Preserve exempt status: Stick to fixed salary

10/31/2013
­To qualify as exempt under the FLSA, employees must be paid on a “salary basis.” Employers often trigger an FLSA lawsuit—and lose employees’ exempt status—when they try to tinker with a person’s salary based on hours or quality of work.